Best SUV for Rear Facing Car Seat

[Alexle2007]

We have a BMW X5 and there was pretty space with our Britax when my son was younger. But he was always in the middle since I sat in the back with him.

 

[staceyeileen]

We always had the RF carseat in the middle so never had the issue of it hitting a seat. We had a britax marathon and Saturn Vue.

 

[shell8558]

My Honda pilot seats 7 and has plenty of room for rear facing car seats. I'm actually on my second one and dearly love it!! My friend has a Toyota 4 runner and I have tons more space in my second row than she does.

 

[MissVeronica]

We have a BMW X5 and there was pretty space with our Britax when my son was younger. But he was always in the middle since I sat in the back with him.

I think I would have a difficult time driving from the backseat.

 

[Alexle2007]

I think I would have a difficult time driving from the backseat.

It was much easier with hubby driving I got to feel like I was being chauffeured to top it off.

 

[BubMunkeyBles]

Full size SUV's will. I had a minivan and loved it but we needed something with more tow capability. We just got a Nissan Armada and there is tons of leg room to still install a rear facing seat. It's completely horrible on gas though.

 

[andigomeep]

My son is currently RFing, at 3, in a sunshine kids xstl (renamed diono rxt), in a 2013 ford escape, middle seat. I'm not sure it would fit without the angle adjuster which can't be used from birth, if you're looking to use a convertible seat from birth.

There's a facebook group called car seats for the littles that is really, really helpful with all kinds of car seat questions. I've seen quite a few what car should I buy posts, too.

 

[cel_disney]

I don't want a mini-van if I can help it.

Does anyone know how the Subaru Outback, Mazda CX-9 and Toyota Highlander do with rear facing car seats? Is the person in the seat in front of the car seat able to ride comfortably?

We had Nissan murano and highlanders until a month ago, and now have a toyota venza and a cx-9.

DD is 3.5 and is RF in a Diono Radian - with the angle adjuster, it fits great in all of them! We have also used it in a Acura RL sedan with a very tall driver with no issues..we used a bucket seat prior to the angle adjuster so I don't know how it would fit for a non-angle adjuster deep recline, but it was great from the 8month mark til now!!!.

We have had evenflo and britax seats in most of these cars RF with no issue!

The boards over at car-seat.org are VERY helpful for this! Feel free to visit for real detailed help and to see what fits with what!

 

[akcire]

No car suggestions. But just got a new carseat made in Canada. A clek. It's awesome.

 

[CandleontheWater]

I would also suggest looking into a britax roundabout, it would be way cheaper than a bigger car, and that way you could choose the car that you like best and best fits your lifestyle rather than just your car seat.

The roundabout is a britax, and still very safe and can do extended rear-facing, but it has a smaller shell, and I can fit it easily in my Honda Accord rear facing and still have plenty of room for the passenger.

The thing about the marathon vs the roundabout is that the marathon is outgrown rear facing when the child shoulder height hits 16 in, and in the roundabout it is 15.75. That is not very much difference, the big different between the two is weight, and most kids will outgrow rear facing in height long before weight.

The roundabout is a great alternative to the marathon, fits better in cars, and is cheaper too!

 

[staceyeileen]

The roundabout is a great alternative to the marathon, fits better in cars, and is cheaper too!

We had both the roundabout and the marathon; I prefer the roundabout! Actually DS is still riding in the roundabout forward facing at age 4.

 

[cel_disney]

We had both the roundabout and the marathon; I prefer the roundabout! Actually DS is still riding in the roundabout forward facing at age 4.

I believe that the Roundabout 50/55 and the classic marathons (sold at target) are the same shell....it's the new marathons that were different.

BUT - I don't think you will find many carseat techs recommending either for extended rear facing...they just don't compare to the headwise 70/my ride 65/radian/foonf etc...

Good Luck with your car shopping and visit car-seat.org when your next child is on the way to get the best advice on carseats for everyone!

 

[Nennie]

If you don't mind pre-owned, check out the Mercedes R350. It was discontinued In 2012 bc it looks too much like a minivan, but it's seriously the best car ever. It has a 3rd row, and is so roomy and comfortable. Plenty of room for carseats. The prices on pre-owned are pretty reasonable too.

I'm so mad they discontinued it, and am hoping a similar car becomes available in the next few years, when I'm ready for a new one!

 

[shelly3girls]

We always had enough space in the Honda Pilot. DH now drives an Armada and its huge with tons of space. Have you looked into SUVs with captains chairs? They seem to have more room.

 

[RachaelA]

We have two RFing seats in our Chevy Traverse with captains chairs in the 2nd row. DD1 is 26 months and RFing in a Recaro Proride behind the passenger. DD2 is still in the infant seat RFing behind the driver and my 6'5 DH fits in front of her. If he needs to sit in front of DD1, we switch her to our Radian RXT with an angle adjuster. We've had the Recaro and the Radian RXT in at the same time. We've also fit an infant carseat in the 3rd row along with 2 convertibles RFing in the middle captains chairs.

Most kids outgrow the RFing height limits of the Britax seats by the age of 2 or shortly after so that's why we got a Radian RXT for DD1 (she will outgrow the RFing limits of the Recaro soon slightly after when she would have if we had a Britax and then we'll just switch the baby too it).

 

[teCh0010]

We have a 2007 honda pilot and it has been great. We got it when our first son was born and put him rear facing in the center position, first in a bucket then in a boulevard. When he was 2.5 we flipped him forward behind the driver and put his little brother in the center in a bucket and then boulevard when the oldest upgraded to a frontier.

With the rear facing seat in the center position no problems, even with the big seats.